Girl

[amolitor]

c&c welcome, of course, and thanks in advance!

 

[EIngerson]

Not to sound rude, but I'm just not seeing the vision in this one. Kind of cluttered and my eyes wander about the photo.

 

[runnah]

Not to sound rude, but I'm just not seeing the vision in this one. Kind of cluttered and my eyes wander about the photo.

Agreed. Hard to pick a subject out so its hard to understand the intent...unless that is the intent?

 

[Rick58]

Sorry Andrew, but I have to go with Eric on this one. I see the angle of the branch, and the angle of the car, but not much going on between the two.
I must like higher contrast then everyone else, because it seems I can't leave my fingers off of other kids toys

 

[gsgary]

Looks like a woman to me

 

[pgriz]

Call me blind and uncomprehending, but other than seeing an attractive woman in the foreground, and a guy in the background, I'm missing the connections between the visual elements. Yet it had enough significance to you that you posted it. So what am I missing?

 

[amolitor]

I will try to remember to come back and take this picture apart a bit, to explain what I see in it, and what I think makes it classic "street" but for now I'm going to let it rest and give others a chance to see what they see in it without my blathering.

Thanks everyone, and there is no way an honest opinion given without malice can possibly be rude.

 

[Warhorse]

I cannot see anything going anywhere here either.

 

[Designer]

I see a lot of visual interest. I see good timing, good balance, and repetitive elements all over the shot.

Probably not what Andrew would say, that's just me.

 

[smithdan]

Agree with Designer. Unfortunately the guy for me is somehow not part of the "story".

 

[Tiller]

I don't see anything.

Which brings up a good question. If amolitor brings up some amazing explanation, and we all go "Ohhhhh....", does that mean it's a good picture? Or should the connection be obvious at first glance?

 

[Designer]

Don't know what Andrew would say. I think we all see it differently.

 

[Rick58]

I don't see anything.

Which brings up a good question. If amolitor brings up some amazing explanation, and we all go "Ohhhhh....", does that mean it's a good picture? Or should the connection be obvious at first glance?

To me, it's like saying "ohhhh...." after having a joke explained.

 

[amolitor]

Which brings up a good question. If amolitor brings up some amazing explanation, and we all go "Ohhhhh....", does that mean it's a good picture? Or should the connection be obvious at first glance?

That is an outstanding question, in fact.

In order the "get" any piece of art, there has to be some sort of shared culture or ideas. Space aliens that see with RADAR, reproduce by fission, with a religion based on the theory that everything unscrews are not likely to "get" any human photography. Buddhists from rural Asia 500 years ago would probably make little sense of christian iconography.

So there's that. Generally on TPF when we make a picture we're pretty much assuming that the people on TPF are a lot like us, and that they'll get a lot of the same sorts of things. Mainly western european derived culture, and so on. In our global world, people in asia and africa and generally familiar enough with western european cultures to be able to get a lot of the stuff, much of the time, so this is a pretty safe bet. This picture ain't that broad.

Orthogonally, TPF like any online community suffers from the problem of norming. Less now than in the past, to be sure, but there is still a print strong strain of consensus about what makes a good picture, and there's a strong tendency to like things outside that consensus less. TPF is one of the better communities in this regard, the norming tendency is relatively mild. Still, it's there. This isn't an indictment, at all. This kind of norming is totally normal, and in fact inevitable.

So, what do we have here? This picture is a bit narrow in appeal. If you're an aficionado of certain kind of street photography you're going to see some things in here. If you're not, you probably are not. The "culture" to which this picture might appeal is kind of narrow. When I "explain" it, I'm not correcting your understanding of the picture. Your understanding is what it is. What I can do is explain a little bit of what's going on within that "culture" that does notice the relevant features of this picture.

If I'd shown a picture of a cross to a 12th century Buddhist, perhaps he'd say "huh?". I can explain the story of Christ to him, and he might at second remove grasp the significance of The Cross in a picture. It's not gonna make him a Christian, though. Maybe he'll convert someday, maybe some day he'll "get" the picture in that way. But explaining it, while helpful, isn't going to make him "get" it in that cultural, visceral, way.

This picture is also substantially outside TPF's norms.

If you don't get it, that's cool. I don't mind, and I appreciate your remarks. It's all good input, and helps me understand how broadly or narrowly appealing my picture is.

 

[Derrel]

The woman appears to be briskly walking past the hair and nail salon, where outside, one of the stylists is texting and enjoying a coffee. SHe's blurred a tiny bit and out of focus due to the long focal length. It's a very brief moment in time. She appears from her general demeanor, to be a style-conscious, early 30's aged woman. He appears to be an early 40's, possibly Asian man, who works at the hair styling place. He appears as if he is walking very slowly, she very quickly. I dunno...I like that tenacious fall leaf still hanging on, right in front of the white of the door jambs, that's a lovely, tiny seasonal clue. It's not a super-great image, but it has a few things going on in it.